Growing Pains
by Converse r life
Summary: Ariel struggles with her yearning for the sea, and her concern for the danger it brings to her daughter.


_**Hi everyone! Miss me? College life is crazy, but this was driving me crazy for awhile, so I had to get rid of it. The basis for this story has a lot to do with some of my own frustrations with TLM 2, namely the fact that everyone refers to Melody as a teenager (but she's turning 12), and the idea of why didn't Ariel just tell her about her mermaid heritage, wouldn't that have been easier than hiding it? Also I love Carlotta's mothering tendencies towards Ariel, and I wanted to give a glimpse of her background as well. So please review!**_

**_-For those following my other story, Altered Reality, it WILL be updated soon, so please keep a lookout!_ **

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><p>In one of the many towers the castle had to offer, there arose a soft sigh.<p>

Outside, it was a beautiful day. The sun had made an appearance, but the orb's harsh rays had been softened by slow moving clouds. A breeze wafted by, lazily providing comfort from the heat. Gulls cried out, their words swallowed by the sound of the waves upon the sand.

"I wonder if Scuttle's out there," Ariel mumbled faintly, her eyes trained to the windows, watching the sweeping arcs of the birds. Her focus on them wasn't for long; she found herself looking out at the sea beyond, it's blue sheen comforting.

A familiar feeling hit her, strong and yearning for the great beyond. Her throat vibrated with a hum, its tune reaching her lips in a language that was long considered gone. She found herself almost entranced, the pull of her first home becoming stronger. Her hand reached out; she was so close, it would be so easy to just go ahead and—

"No," abruptly, Ariel dropped her hand, letting it splash against her. "It's for the best."

She leaned back, letting her shoulders rest against the end of the large tub, and allowed the water to soak over her. The bubbles popped softly against her skin, a faint, violet smell arising from them. A tiny smile lifted up the corners of her lips at the irony; she was allergic to the flowers, yet it was one of her favorite scents.

Summer was starting to wane now, soon it would be fall, then winter, then her least favorite, spring, and then they'd end up right back in summer. Another year passed. More arguments, more frosty stand offs, more tears, and more…

"I wish there was another way," she conceded, kicking the bottom of the tub in a moment of stubborn immaturity. "It's not like it's even fair. I'm hurting just as much, if she would only—if we could just—urgh!"

Frustrated, she pushed away from her leaning position, sitting up. Water sloshed against the sides, threatening to spill over, but thankfully not doing so. She wasn't in the mood to be dealing with any other messes right now.

She glared at the window, the orange glow of the now setting sun reminding her how much she despised it. Even now, years passed, she could still hear that voice in the back of her mind, taunting, warning. Without thinking, she wiggled her toes on both feet, trying to silence that horrid voice, repeating itself over, and over.

_On the third day_…

She pinched finger, softly swearing in surprise, before looking around instinctively to see if anyone had heard. Thankfully, she was alone. She remembered having made sure of that before coming in here with a piercing migraine, and heavy heart.

"Well, neither of them is gone," she muttered, absently raising a few bubbles into the air, and watching at the popped on the way down. She hugged her arms around her, letting out an aggravated noise. "I just need to clear my head."

That last part struck an idea in her. She let her eyes slide to the left, then to the right, knowing no one was watching, but just making sure. She giggled slightly, a girlish sound, before closing her eyes and slipping under the bubbly water.

Once underneath, she waited a few seconds, before opening her eyes again. She'd made the mistake of letting soap enter her eyes before, and her body did_ not_ appreciate it. Her vision was starting to sharpen now, and a feeling of clarity immediately started to overtake her.

She twisted her lips thoughtfully, focusing on her thoughts. She always felt better once she was in water. The trident's magic could only go so far; though she may have legs, her body still considered itself to be a mermaid. Or at least that was Attina's explanation.

Her brows scrunched up, and her twisted lips turned into a frown. She hadn't seen her family in nearly a year, and she hadn't seen Sebastian in a good month, so her news of what was happening was dried up. It was becoming so much harder to slip away now that Melody was older, even for a quick swim.

That last thought caused guilt to surge through her. She saw the same pull of the sea she felt was in her daughter as well, and she knew it wasn't fair that every now and then she succumbed to the ocean's call. Like with meeting her family, it was hard to do, but she couldn't ignore it forever, even if only a handful of times in the past few years were all she got. Eventually, she _had_ to revel in its peaceful tranquility of the sea for a few minutes, before facing reality again.

She rubbed her face, cringing at the idea of going back to life. Right now, she was content to stay in the tub forever; it was so much easier this way. Still thinking hard, she scooted lower into the tub so that her back touched the bottom.

In doing this, her gaze was raised onto the distorted water of the surface. A face was looking down at her, one that Ariel could make out easily, despite the lingering bubbles and moving water. She grimaced, knowing she'd been caught, and sat up, not even out of breath.

"This water is freezing, you're going to catch your death." There was no time wasted in her being scolded; the tone was disapproving, but there was an honest layer of worry underneath it.

Stubbornly, but unable to look up, Ariel stared at her wedding ring, mumbling out her own defenses. "It feels fine to me."

"I'm sure you've already started to prune, goodness knows how long you've been in here." That chiding voice was back, obviously in disfavor of the young woman's behavior.

Ariel lifted up her hand slightly, examining her digits in the light. She still would not look at the owner of the voice. "My fingers aren't wrinkled."

"_And_ you've missed dinner; Louis even made your favorite." Now the chastising was softer, the concern much more prevalent.

The redhead poked at a bubble, muttering, "I'm not even hungry."

The voice sighed. Ariel felt a familiar feeling of guilt overtake her; this was all for her own good, after all. But she didn't want to deal with these things, at least not now. She already felt bad enough.

Finally, after a few seconds of silence, the voice said, "At the very least, you need to get this hair of yours under control."

_That_ caught Ariel's attention. She lifted a hand up to her hair, which was still pinned up in the bun she'd put it in for her bath. Feeling nothing out of the ordinary, she frowned, looking up at the housekeeper.

"It's not so bad," she started, but her hands were already being brushed away from her head.

"That's because you can't see yourself, dear," Carlotta responded confidently, easily slipping the young woman's hair out of its up-do, letting it fall, and tsking in reproach. "It's just a mess of knots."

"I can just brush it out later." Ariel offered, eyeing the woman with significant wariness as she leaned over the tub, turning on the fish faucet to fill a pitcher up.

"And it will go in every which direction when you do," the housekeeper retorted, turning the faucet off.

Ariel didn't notice this, as she was more caught up in defending her point. "I know _how_ to control my hair, and it's not even—gah!"

Water cascaded over her head in a single motion, swallowing away the rest of her words. Heavily waterlogged, she struggled to push her bangs back to their original position. Still spluttering, she looked up at the housekeeper with a glare.

"You did that on purpose!"

"Oh, hush, you'd think I did something terrible." Carlotta returned, unperturbed as she reached for the bottle of shampoo. "Honestly, dear, you could use a bit of help."

Ariel squirmed, a shiver running down her spine as the cold, gooey liquid touched her scalp. "I didn't even _want _to wash my hair today. It takes forever to dry."

"Then you shouldn't have gone under the water," here Carlotta's features grew disapproving, as her hands expertly massaged the suds into the young woman's hair, "Or have _stayed_ under for so long. Goodness knows what will happen the day you actually run out of air."

Ariel turned her eyes upward, a smile hinting at her features. "Mermaid's can't drown."

"Yes, but human queen's can, and I doubt Eric could control that daughter of yours alone." There was amusement in the housekeeper's voice, but at the mention of Melody, Ariel's gaze dropped, a frown settling on her features again.

The older woman noticed, but decided not to comment. Not because it wasn't her place (not that it had ever really mattered), but because after so long, she knew the girl would speak when ready. She noticed a small vial next to the tub, and reached for it, reading the label with pursed lips. "Violets?"

Ariel shrugged, eyes still trained downwards. "It smells nice."

"You're allergic to flowers, hon." The housekeeper deadpanned, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"I'm allergic to flower _pollen_. There's a big difference; besides, Eric says he likes it too." Ariel offered, almost sheepish now.

"Oh, please," Carlotta brushed it off, shaking her head. "You could wear a potato sack and get that response. Or better yet, you could wear those rags you showed up here in for the first time, he thought you looked nice then."

"It was the best I could come up with, considering the circumstances." The young woman managed, at least having enough decency to blush slightly at the memory. "You can't say I'm not resourceful."

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree; Melody's getting better sneaking into the kitchen for sweets before dinner." Carlotta said, trying to sound stern, but it came out more amused.

"And I'm sure you're having fun letting it slide and allowing her to spoil her appetite." Ariel answered, happy for just a moment. Yet not a second after, the mirth left her features and she levied another heavy sigh, sinking slightly into the bubbles.

"I just…I don't understand why this keeps happening." She mumbled, pushing back her soapy hair in obvious frustration. "We used to be so close, and now it's like I'm public enemy number one, getting into screaming matches with her."

"Every mother goes through this, hon, it's called the teenage years," the housekeeper soothed, trying to sound supportive.

Ariel's eyes sharpened, and her head shot up fast. "Why does everyone keep saying that? Melody's just a baby!"

"She'll be twelve in a week," Carlotta reminded, gently though. "She's not a baby anymore."

"Well, she's still eleven right now. Eleven is just a year above ten, and ten is closer to one than it is to twenty-one, so she's still a baby. At least for the next few days." Ariel declared stubbornly, crossing her arms against her chest in a moment of defiance.

"Alright dear, whatever you want to believe," Carlotta relented, content to let the young mother believe in her fantasy world for as long as she pleased. "Close your eyes."

But Ariel was not to be subdued, not on a topic like this. Chewing on her nails, she looked down and tried to gather her thoughts. "I mean, I still have to help her with homework! It's rare now, sure...and she doesn't exactly 'ask' for my help…"

An idea suddenly dawned on the redhead, and she snapped back up. "Oh, Neptune, I'm losing her. It's happening, she's becoming a…a _teenager_."

The word tasted bitter in her mouth; she spat it out quickly. Panic started to pool in her eyes, as the flush in her cheeks started to pale. Her heartbeat quickening, she tried to swallow away the lump in her throat.

"Is that why she said she hates me? Because she's a teenager? Is that what they do?" Horrified, Ariel sped on, barely taking a breath. "I can't be the mother of a teenager; I was _still_ a teenager when I had her! And if she's twelve now, that's only a couple years away until she could fall for a human and swimaway from home and make a deal with a sea witch and then end up getting marr—gah!"

For the second time, water sloshed over her, effectively cutting off the terrified trail of words. Startled, the young woman yelped, nearly getting soap in her eyes. When her vision returned to her fully, all she could see was a curtain of red. She pushed her hair behind her ears, grimacing as she looked up at the housekeeper.

"I needed that, didn't I?"

"To keep you sane, yes." Carlotta clarified, smiling, before letting her features turn into that of understanding. "So that's what has you hiding up here, your first 'I hate you', hm?"

"My first?" Ariel squeaked, biting at her nails again. "Are you telling me…there's going to be _more_?"

"Dear, think back to when you were that age, it wasn't that long ago," that earned the older woman a glare (because Ariel had issues about the fact that she was the youngest queen in the history of the kingdom) but she ignored it. "How many times did you say that exact phrase?"

"Never!" The redhead declared. Carlotta gave her a heavy look; she shrank under the weight of it, suddenly sheepish. "Ok, _maybe_ once or twice to my father, or my oldest sister. But I always felt bad afterwards!"

"And I'm sure your daughter feels the same; it's just the teenage years talking." She responded, lifting up the sponge and bar of soap. "Are you capable of scrubbing, or do you still need supervision?"

"Give me that," Ariel's face flushed in embarrassment, as she snatched the items away. "That was more than ten years ago, and I didn't know; I was a mermaid who'd just into turned a human!"

The housekeeper laughed. "Hon, that's what makes it all the funnier."

"Oh Poseidon, I'm never going to live that down." Ariel groaned, falling into her old speech patterns, the one's she rarely used unless stressed or simply around someone who understood, for fear of her daughter's questions.

The idea of her daughter caused something else to trigger in her mind. Cautiously, while focusing on scrubbing off the invisible dirt off of her, she asked, "Did Anthony say it a lot? Back when he was a teenager, I mean."

Carlotta pursed her lips, thinking hard. "A few times, mostly around this age."

"What'd you do?"

"The first time I believe I cried," she said truthfully, frowning when the young woman started to squirm.

"And the second time?" Ariel questioned, clearly curious about the older woman's only son.

Carlotta shrugged. "There was nothing to do. I tried not to take it personal."

"Did that work?"

Here the housekeeper smiled ruefully at the memory, shaking her head. "Not in the least, but it was just growing pains. Eric went through the same phase a few years later; by then I was a bit wiser though, and had him doing dishes for a week."

Ariel smiled at the sound of her husband. Carlotta had been the mother-figure in his life for as long as he could remember, because his own parents had never been around very much. "Anthony turned out alright, though. I mean, he's got Leah, and the children are _adorable_."

"Mhm, if only he didn't drive me up a wall when they visit," she answered dryly, before looking over slyly at the queen. "And I think Eric turned out fine as well."

"_That's_ debatable," Ariel answered, smirking to herself, before sighing. "I just don't know if I'm _ready_ for her to grow up. She's already getting suspicious about her heritage, I don't know how long I'll be able to keep it a secret."

"Well, what's the harm if she figures it out?"

Ariel snorted, because it was almost obvious trait in her daughter. "She'd go searching for _that monster_, of course. And we've tried to keep Melody sheltered for a reason, because she doesn't _need_ to know how cruel the world is, so she could have a _normal_ life, and if she somehow found that damn lair, Morgana would just use her as another tool in her schemes!"

A furious, and terrified shudder ran down her spine at the thought. The memory of her baby being held by thin, greenish fingers still haunted her. She'd been ten feet away, and unable to do anything. There were many nights Ariel had woken in a panic that Melody had made it into that shark's mouth.

"Easy, hon," Carlotta placed a gentle hand on the redhead's shoulder, trying to soothe her anger. "It was just a 'what if'."

Ariel sighed, guilty that she'd even let this get under her skin and taken it out on the kind woman. "Sorry. It's just…I know she hates the wall, I mean, even _I'm_ not a huge fan of being cut off from the sea, but it's the only way to keep her safe."

"Eventually you're going to have to tell her, though." Carlotta reminded, starting to tidy up the large bathroom.

Ariel made a sour face. "Now you're starting to sound like Eric. He thinks there's going to just be a perfect moment when we'll _know_ it's time."

"And you don't?"

"Honestly, I just want to make it through her party next week without any problems. Maybe even make up by then." She sounded hopeful, but there was straining in her voice, because she'd never known this, never had these sorts of fights with her own mother.

"Oh, you'll patch things up quickly," Carlotta said with a nostalgic smile, gathering a fluffy towel. "And next week you'll fight again, and you'll both forgive and forget, until it happens the week after that, and the week after that."

Ariel's eyes widened, paling at the thought. "When does it stop?"

"About the time they realize that to get to the opposite sex, they'll need to be on your good side." The housekeeper laughed, opening up the towel as Ariel groaned in defeat. "Now come out of there, before you go out into society shriveled up like a prune."

"I'm the queen, I can look however I want." The young woman muttered, mostly to herself.

"Well, then get out for your husband. Heaven knows how long you've been up here; he's probably got half the guard out looking for you." Carlotta retorted, raising a brow in faint amusement at just the thought.

Ariel slowly stood up, her skin prickling with goose-bumps when exposed to the air. "He worries too much."

"It's because he loves you, dear," Was the reply she received, as she stepped out of the tub, dripping wet, and was wrapped tightly in the towel.

As Carlotta fussed and fretted over her hair, her chewed off nails, and everything in between, Ariel noted that her migraine, and the heaviness in her heart, while not completely, gone, had significantly decreased.


End file.
